What are your worst/most disappointing holiday shopping horror stories?

I have mostly had fun and good success BF shopping. Although from reading other people's horror stories it seems that my own community uses remarkable civility and good humor on BF, whichis doubly odd given that at least half the shoppers have come in from Mexico to take advantage of the sales. But last year I bought a GPS for $50 which was a good deal, however I'd just bought my first smart phone and did not realize that meant I would never use GPS again. I have never once turned it on.

I equate Black Friday with a one-day Zombie Apocalypse. I make sure I am stocked up on necessities so that I don't have to go out for anything, then spend BF comfortably at home away from all the wild-eyed, flesh-eating walking undead.

Guaranteed delivery by December 24!

December 20: We apologize, but your order has been delayed.

Also, greeting cards from shirt.woot that didn't leave TX until 12/18. And sent via SnailPost.

I haaaaa*aaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaaa*ate Black Friday. Usually by Wednesday I've started some pizza dough, and the other tenants in the three-flat I live in are often traveling, so I can play my music loud and enjoy a totally-no-pressure day capped off with homemade pizza.

Someone honked at me out of anger, once. Seems they thought putting their blinker on entitled them to a parking spot, even though I had gotten there over a minute prior.

so it wasn't BF but I had a guy take away a toy my 4 year old nephew had picked up. Took it right out of his hands and, I won't say pushed, he slid the boy back a few feet to keep him from picking up anymore of them so he could buy them all. It must have been a hot item i don't know, but the store was packed and I was pissed off. I threw the guy down the aisle by the collar of his jacket and screamed at him while my wife comforted my nephew. I'm not a small guy and apparently the threat was real enough because he ran out of the aisle with no toys at all. I'm not usually one to rage out and violence isn't my first reaction. I'm pretty sure my response was justified, if it wasn't keep it to yourself. I don't care what you think.

I worked at the local Kmart during the original 1996 "Tickle Me Elmo" craze. You've never seen such chaos and disorder until you witness grown adults fighting with each other over a child's doll. I would liken it to the Cabbage Patch Kid craze during the 80s. Every time we got new stock of the dolls it was the same thing. People waiting outside before we opened and then stampeding in to grab one. Since I worked at the store I bought a few with the intention of reselling them, but I ended up just giving them to my niece and nephew a few years later.

One year I was at Wal-Mart on Black Friday, back when that was a thing that started at midnight. The 2-disc edition of Rock-a-Doodle on DVD was $1.88 according to their flyer, and I thought it would make a fun gift for a girl I knew who was writing a book on chickens in cinema since it had the commentary and stuff. Anyway they had the Black Friday stuff in these cardboard displays in the middle of each aisle, but I didn't see the Rock-a-Doodle DVD anywhere. There wasn't even a space where it should have been. I figured I'd ask the manager about it and the employee closest to the display pointed me to the place way in the back where they have the photo pickup desk and extra bathrooms or whatever.

Nobody was there since photo pickup was closed, but there was a long dark hall leading off that section. I flipped the lightswitch but only one light at the very end came on, and it flickered intermittently like torchlight, but cold and blue. Suddenly I noticed a little girl facing away from me into the darkness. Knowing that Wal-Mart on Black Friday is like the perfect storm of terrible parenting, I assumed this was a kid who'd wandered off from her family. "Hey, kid, are you lost?" For a moment there was no reply, and then a whisper that seemed to come from all directions at once: "Everyone here is lost. The lucky ones don't know it yet. Hehe." A chill ran through me, and I walked past her to look at her face, which... wasn't there. Her long black hair covered her entire head, and she seemed to have two backs, one on each side, like a twisted reverse Janus. I felt a cold dread and an overwhelming need to get out of that hallway, and as I ran past the girl there was a distant laughter, icy and mocking. I noticed I seemed to be moving slower, there in the flickering light and stale choking air, and each movement became heavy labour as I fled in increasing panic. When I reached the area that should have opened up to the main store there was a solid wall, shrouded in darkness but it felt like weathered wet concrete. Grasping desperately in the darkness I felt jutting, crumbling bricks, leafy vines and... a ladder? Imagining this to be my only means of escape I grasped it and hauled myself up. Each movement was agony but adrenaline and fear guided my hands, as I kept climbing until what was the hallway seemed to close in into a narrow shaft, so there was barely enough room to continue up the ladder as wet bricks pressed against my back and arms. The distant laughter seemed right above me, and where the ladder should have ended was a steel plate with what left like a locked chain-link grate underneath. No escape. I let out a sudden scream as the ladder crumbled to rusty shards and I fell. I don't remember hitting the bottom. Perhaps there was no bottom. It didn't feel like falling asleep or even being knocked out, just an ebb of darkness as my consciousness drained away. No escape.

When I woke up I was clutching a Rock-A-Doodle 2-disc DVD set, and had the still-tired feeling that comes with waking from an uneasy night. I reached across for Professor Johan Hedgehog III, my plush chum, only to realise he felt more numerous than usual. My eyes flew open. I wasn't in bed at all, but a bin of stuffed animals. Well, it wasn't the first time, and I figured I'd at least have a funny story to tell. Within moments I realised that there were no other customers, and the store seemed to be closed. I felt the same chill from the hallway--it wasn't just closed but abandoned for years, with a thick coating of dust and everything in disarray. I ran to the doors, expecting to find them already broken or at least able to be pried open, but the entrance was sealed with a thick welded metal slab. No escape. I felt like screaming, but I guess I must have seen the funny side of it all, as I heard that laughter again, only this time it was coming from me. No escape. No escape ever again.

So, next time you're at Wal-Mart on Black Friday, come to the back of the store. I don't work there, but I bet I can help you find what you're looking for.

Horror in that I hate Black Friday and was up all night while in the middle of Chemo. Even with a handicapped sticker it was nasty, exhausting and I never ever want to do Black Friday again.

In 2010 my niece was laid off the week before thanksgiving when her company closed. With kids 5, 7 and 9 at home, 2 of whom still believed in Santa, I decided that despite 2 cancer diagnoses that year, the expenses related to that, being laid off for 5 months myself (I was employed at that point, since Oct), chemo, etc. (one of those cancers I am still messing with now) that I'd do the Black Friday thing to give her kids Christmas. I wasn't originally going to do the black friday thing as I have saved enough to get my kid what she wanted so I wouldn't have to torture myself with Black Friday madness, since I was in the middle of chemo.

So I first dragged my sorry rear to Old Navy at midnight and bought each of them 2 pair of jeans and 3 shirts (they needed clothes). Then off to walmart to literally snake my arm in between people to snag one of my kid's presents (I was ruthless as this is how I was planning on paying for this santa spending spree- savings off of what I was getting my daughter via black friday rather than buying with higher prices when the stores weren't jammed). Then off to Toys R Us, back to walmart for my daughter's second gift (they were staggering when things were available on sale) and a couple of other smaller presents for her and the other kids. Then on to Target (at this point it was 7am) and got cuter jeans for my niece than what I found at Old Navy (did not return the black friday ones for her at Old Navy until later) and a couple of other things for my daughter. The line there was mild compared to other stores.

A news station was at Toys R Us talking to someone ahead of me about the horrible lines. I commented to someone else in line that this line was nothing compared to the one at Old Navy the night before and the news lady overhead me so I ended up on the news. As a result of that some lady contacted me via the news station and gave me a gift card to give my niece. Then on to Michaels to get some stocking stuffers and art supplies for one kid, plus back again to Walmart to get Christmas candy for the stockings (should have gotten that during one of the other two trips but I forgot).

UPS gave me a corporate discount to mail the haul (huge box) after I told them the story so that ended up cheaper than the post office. I staggered home exhausted but successful from the first all nighter I had had in years. My local oncologist saw me on the news and yelled at me for being in those crowds with a white count in the pits. Luckily I didn't get sick.

The kids had a great christmas (I had wrapped what was from me and told my niece that the rest of the stuff could be from them or santa…), my daughter was happy with her presents. I had spent a bit more than I had anticipated but in the end I figured that me cutting back on other stuff (and used my mom's christmas money to me to pay for everyone else's christmas and didn't get me anything although I didn't tell her that because she would have been upset I didn't spend some of her money on me) was worth a bunch of kids having a nice christmas, keeping up their faith in Santa and making my niece and her husband's life a little easier.

I've never ventured out on BF. I've never had a horrible holiday shopping experience. My mother, however, had her trunk broken into while she was at Toys R Us. She left the other gifts she'd purchased earlier that day, along with her purse, in the trunk. They took it all. I'd say that was the worst story. She was so upset.
Not a totally sad story though. Ten years later, my mom got a phone call from a woman who found her wallet, with her ID, pictures, and personal items still in it, and had her phone # in there, too. The woman told mom that she found a stash of purses, wallets, etc. in her attic. Turns out her son was the thief. He was in jail and she found his stash, then set about returning everyone's property to them with an apology for her son's actions.
It took ten years, but that woman gave back more in honesty and humility than her son took in money and toys.

Worst online shopping was at NewEgg. I found a limited time deal, placed it in my cart, paid and got my confirmation. Good deal, right? Couple hours later my order is cancelled, my account is suspended. I tried chat support first, long wait and then after a few minutes, you have to call. Fine. So I called. Longer wait and then I get "no I can't fix it or tell you what is wrong". Getting rather iratated by now. Move up a tier to someone who will look into my problem and get back to me. Yep, you guessed it. That did not happen so I called again, vented at some poor soul and still nowhere. As far as I know I am still suspended there for an unknown reason that can't be fixed.

Shots Rang Out!!!

That's all I got so far... check back later.

Black Friday at Best Buy is my horror story. I waited 2 1/2 hours in line for a TV only to find out that I was in the wrong line for that particular TV. Bastards.

Years ago, I got my mom a DVD player for Christmas at circut city. She cried when she opened it, and it was really weird. I didn't think a DVD player was worth crying over. Well, she never used it and it gave me some guilt I can't explain. So ever since then I don't buy Christmas presents at big box retailers.

I work at a mall on Black Friday in a non-retail capacity, so I get to miss out on all the big box store shenanigans. The biggest headache there is people standing around blocking the walkway when I'm trying to get where I need to be.

Little old ladies are ABSOLUTELY the worst on BF. It's a lot like "Hell's Grannies". They look all sweet and innocent and harmless, then BAM!

Cases in point: It's the 2nd Christmas for our DS. This is also the year of the Walkin', Talkin' Elmo/Cookie Monster/Big Bird. KMart has these on massive sale on BF, so I get up at 3 AM, get in line. I've been a Black Friday shopper for several years at this point, and I know how the game is played, or so I think. I wait until they release us into the store, and zip over to toys. Of course, Elmo is gone, but I'm okay with that and get a Cookie Monster. I plop Cookie into the cart, then proceed to move down the aisle, looking for other toys on my list. I stop for precisely two seconds, never removing my hand from my cart, to snag the next item on my list. In the two seconds that I take my eyes off my cart (but never my hand, clearly keeping possession of the cart), a little old lady has slithered up, AND IS REMOVING MY COOKIE MONSTER from my cart!!! I holler "I beg your pardon, ma'am, may I help you?" while firmly making eye contact with her. She drops Cookie, and then has the nerve to glare at me while she walks away.

Fast forward several years. I'm in the market for a new tree, and JC Penney has the perfect tree- 8 foot spruce, prelit with multicolored lights, several light patterns, and the "umbrella" style assembly/collapse. It's on massive BF sale, so I trot on down to the local JCP, and manage to snag one of the "limited-stock" trees. My mom is shopping with me, and she asks me to stop for a second while she looks at something as we're on our way to the cash register. I stop, and brace my elbows on top of the very large box my tree is enclosed in. While I'm leaning on my box, chatting with my mom about whatever she's looking at, my box starts to ease out from under me. I look down, and a little old lady is trying to pry the box out from underneath me, where I am CLEARLY holding it. Once again, I holler "I beg your pardon, ma'am, may I help you?" while firmly making eye contact with her. This little old lady (while glaring, of course) mumbles something that might be "Sorry, didn't see you", but also could be swearing at me, all while my mother stands there useless, pretending that she doesn't see this little by-play in front of her. (Later, she says she just couldn't believe at the time that someone as nicely-dressed and harmless-looking would DO something like that)

So I now watch the little old ladies standing next to or near me. They're not the ones who start those fistfights or stampedes, but they will not hesitate to grab whatever isn't nailed down on Black Friday.